


The Flu

by Pixelatrix



Series: Unconventional Sequels, One-Shots and Alternate Chapters [5]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M, Fluff, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-14
Updated: 2013-07-14
Packaged: 2017-12-20 04:44:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/883085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pixelatrix/pseuds/Pixelatrix
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a Silly fluffy one-shot attached to my Unconventional series in which both Hackett and Zaeed have the flu.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Flu

**Author's Note:**

> Bioware owns all.

_From: Finnegan_

_To: Steven_

_Subj: Zaeed._

_Have you heard from him?_

_He was supposed to meet me yesterday but never showed up._

_Fin_

* * *

_From: Steven_

_To: Finnegan_

_Subj: re: Zaeed._

_The last I heard from him, he was in the apartment on Elysium._

_Have you tried his comm?_

_Steven_

* * *

_From: Finnegan_

_To: Steven_

_Subj: re: Zaeed._

_Of course I tried the comm._

_I’m heading to Elysium to see if he’s there._

_Fin_

* * *

It took her a few hours to find at transport that was leaving for Elysium.  She headed straight for the apartment the following day once she’d arrived.  She caught sight of his dufflebag sitting on the couch.  She wandered cautiously around with her pistol drawn looking for him.  She finally found him in the bedroom asleep.

She stepped over to brush her fingers across his forehead only to find that he felt incredibly warm.  She used the scanner on her omni-tool to check his temperature – 103.1.  He chose that precise moment to start coughing.  He blinked a few times before he turned bleary eyes towards her.

“Fin?” It sounded like her name; she wasn’t one hundred percent certain that was what he said.  He collapsed back on the bed with a groan. “I bloody hurt everywhere.”

“You have the flu.” Fin decided to state the obvious. “Stay in bed. I’m going to get some supplies.”

“I’m not going to the bloody doctor.” Zaeed grumbled at her.

_Joy._

“Fine. I’m not asking you to go to the doctor. I’m asking you to stay in bed under the covers. Can you manage that?” Fin tucked him back into the bed and ignored his aggravated huff. She headed into the living room to the terminal at the desk to pull up a chat window.

* * *

_Inter-Relay Text Chat_

_Location: Elysium_

_From: Fin_

_To: Steven_

_11:02 F: Zaeed has a fever._

_11:03 F: How hard is it to make chicken soup?_

_11:07 S: For the average person or for you?_

_11:09 F: That is not…for me._

_11:11 S: I’ll be on the next shuttle bound for Elysium._

_11:12 F: I’m not sure whether I should be pleased or insulted._

_11:13 S: I’m sending you a list of ingredients that you can pick up at the store.  I’ll be there in about six hours.  Keep him warm._

_11:14 F: Steven. I love you. And while my abilities in the kitchen are limited, I am fully capable of handling the flu and I know that I should keep him warm. I even know what medicine to give him._

_11:15 S: Do you want the list or not?_

_11:17 F: Send it._

_11:18 S: See you in a few hours or so._

_11:19 User has disconnected._

* * *

In the seven hours that it took Hackett to arrive, Fin managed to pick up all the ingredients _he_ needed.  She also picked up tea and medicine and a whole host of other flu supplies.  She managed to get Zaeed up and into a warm bath so she could change out the sheets on the bed. He grumbled through most of it.  He refused to take the medicine until she threatened him with bodily harm.  Her mother had always given her tea with honey when she had a sore throat or fever. 

“Tea?” Zaeed stared at the cup with a raised eyebrow.  “I’m not fucking drinking tea.”

“Zaeed Massani.” Fin pressed the mug into his hands. “You will sip that tea.”

“Or what?”

“I tell you what. If you drink the tea, I’ll remove one article of clothing.” Fin grinned at him.

“That is not going to bloody work.” He pushed the mug back towards her.

Fin refused to take it and instead reached down to start pulling up the hem of her t-shirt. “Are you sure?”

“Bitch,” he muttered as he started to sip the tea.

Fin pulled her t-shirt off while he finished the tea. “Ok.  Soup will have to wait for _he who can actually cook_ , so instead, I have a sandwich, which you will eat and medicine, which you will take.”

They argued for a good ten minutes until she took her jeans off.  Zaeed ate his sandwich and took the medicine without further verbal complaint.  He still grumbled under his breath but as long as she didn’t understand what he said, she figured she should pick her battles.  Once he finished, Fin tucked him back into the blankets and pulled the curtains closed to block out the afternoon sunlight.

“Fin?”

She sat on the edge of the bed and rested her hand on his forehead. “Yes?”

“Batarians are goddamn bastards,” he muttered. “Bounty hunters do not drink tea.”

Fin had to resist the urge to chuckle as the medicine started to kick in.  She waited until he had fallen asleep before taking the plate back into the kitchen.  His fever hadn’t risen which was good but it hadn’t gone down either. 

He wasn’t much better a few hours later however and Fin decided that it was time to try her father’s preferred method of flu remedy.  It was a mixture of scotch, honey, lemon juice and tea.  She heated it up over the stove and added a couple different spices that were supposed to be good for the immune system. 

She took a sip to make sure it tasted alright before carrying it in to a groggy and slightly delirious Zaeed.  He was much more amenable to the idea of drinking scotch.  She didn’t have to take off as much as a sock. 

“How is he?” Hackett arrived an hour later to find Fin dozing on the couch.

“It’s Zaeed. He has a fever and everything hurts.” Fin moved up off the couch to give him a kiss.

“So he’s basically being a grumpy bastard?” Hackett followed her into the bedroom to check on their _patient_.  He dropped his bag by the end of the bed and walked over to sit on the edge of the bed and check his temperature. “101?”

“It’s going down at least.” Fin leaned against the wall. “He is a worse patient than I am.”

“That’s because he’s bigger and swears more.” Hackett glanced back at her.

“Thanks.” Fin motioned for him to follow her back into the living area. “Let him sleep.”

Hackett headed into the kitchen and began starting the broth that he’d need to make the soup. “Have you had anything to eat?”

“I’ve been a little busy.” Fin reached over to grab one of the pieces of carrot that he’d just cut. “I had half a sandwich earlier while I was feeding Zaeed.”

“Have another sandwich and take a nap. I don’t want you getting the flu as well.” Hackett continued cutting up the vegetables and tossing them into a pot on the stove.

Fin raised an eyebrow at him. “Are you…”

“What?”

“You seem a little out of sorts. Why?” Fin grabbed another carrot chunk.

“I’m fine.”

Fin wandered over to place her hand on his forehead. “Were you two by any chance together a few days ago?”

“Maybe.”

_Oh…joy._

“Ok. That’s it.” She grabbed him by the arm and dragged him towards the bedroom. “Off with the uniform and in the bed.”

“I am perfectly fine.” He started to head back to the kitchen.

Fin pulled up her scanner again to check him. “Oh? Fine are you? You have a temperature of one hundred.  Clothes off, in bed. Now.”

“She’s a pushy little bitch,” Zaeed muttered.

“Hush.” She glared down at him.

Fin got Hackett into bed beside the other sickie and forced him to take medicine as well.  When they had both dozed off under the blankets, Fin headed straight for the terminal in the living room.  She found a relatively easy chicken soup recipe to follow and gave it a whirl.  It ended badly.  So instead, she stepped out to a local restaurant and picked up enough soup to last them a week. 

They had just woken up when she got back with the soup.  Dealing with two grumpy feverish men was…exhausting.  The following morning, she found that their fevers had both broken.  She forced them both into a hot bath while she changed the sheets for a second time.  Once they were dressed and back under the clean blankets, she fed them more soup followed by more medicine.  They fell asleep not long after and she went into the living room to rest on the couch.

“Fin?”

It took her a few moments to wake up hours later and stumble back into the room to find Zaeed sitting up in bed.  He looked much better.  She made him go sit out on the balcony to get a little fresh air and sunlight.  It was two full days before both men were feeling better. 

Fin left them with a fridge full of food and medicine.  She was already a day beyond the amount of time that her squad leader had given her for shore-leave.  She headed back to her current assignment to the second fleet.  She hadn’t heard from either of them in a couple days, not even a thank you. She was dozing in her bunk when her omni-tool beeped.

* * *

_Inter-Relay Text Chat_

_Location: Elysium_

_From: Zaeed_

_To: Fin_

_13:10 Z: Where the hell did you go?_

_13:15 F: Maybe you were delirious when I mentioned it, but I was already day late back from shore-leave._

_13:16 Z: You didn’t say bye._

_13:18 F: I did. I even left a note with the food in the fridge._

_13:21 Z: Steven snores._

_13:32 F: You both snore._

_13:34 Z: He snores fucking louder._

_13:36 F: I’m trying to sleep. Did you need something?_

_13:37 Z: You._

_13:38 F: Get some sleep._

_13:39 User has disconnected._

* * *

Zaeed nudged the man snoring beside him in bed until he got a groggy ‘ _what?’._ “Are we difficult patients?”

“Yes.” Hackett pushed up on his elbows. “Where’s Finnegan?”

Zaeed tossed him the note that she’d left. “How goddamn difficult could we be?”

Hackett just raised an eyebrow at him. “Is that a rhetorical question?”

“Goddamn it.” Zaeed collapsed back on the bed. “This is your damn fault.”

“How is it my fault?” Hackett turned on his side.

“Why would the flu voluntarily bloody attack me? It’s clearly your fault.” Zaeed glared at him.

Hackett pulled the pillow out from under his head and smacked Zaeed in the face with it. “Why don’t you do something useful like find a way for us to make up for being cranky bastards?”

* * *

_From: Fin_

_To: Zaeed_

_Subj: Night watch._

_I’d just like you to know that thanks to you two, I am now stuck on night watch for the next three weeks._

_Thanks for that._

_How are the fevers?_

_Fin_

* * *

“Lieutenant Shepard?”

Fin glanced up to find the requisitions officer standing in front of her. “Corporal?”

“A package just arrived for you with the rest of the mail.  I placed it on your bunk.” He grinned at her then wandered away.

Fin made her way back to the crew quarters to find a little crate sitting on her bed.  She pulled it open and had to smother a laugh.  They’d sent her a stockpile of food.  They tended to hoard food on the ship and her buddies were always stealing hers.  She found a stash of the _good_ coffee as well, the kind that she normally filched from Hackett when she visited.   It was near the bottom that she found Zaeed’s contribution – an expensive mod for her shotgun. She’d been eyeing it the other night when they were discussing weapons.

There was a note stuck to the top of it.

_Thanks for taking care of two grumpy bastards. Love you._


End file.
